


timeline

by klaviergavout



Category: Terminator (Movies), Terminator: Dark Fate
Genre: Angst, F/F, First Kiss, i literally watched the movie about an hour ago and i have a lot of feelings.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:01:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22963558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klaviergavout/pseuds/klaviergavout
Summary: grace waits for justice. dani waits for her.
Relationships: Grace Harper/Dani Ramos
Comments: 2
Kudos: 48





	timeline

fighting off three attackers in under a minute is easy for dani, now; she's had hundreds of legion bots to practise on. what's harder is kneeling down in front of the girl they were about to attack and seeing grace, _her_ grace, staring back up at her. except she's young - far too young to be part of any of this yet - her pale face scattered with scars and dirt. unaugmented and weak. barely fifteen.

dani has so much she wants to say to this girl whose eyes are glazed with unshed tears, who remains untainted from the cold metal of future upgrades. who doesn't even know what a supersoldier is, doesn't even think there are any soldiers still alive. and when dani pulls grace into a desperate hug she's so close to spilling over, so close to telling her everything. but she knows this girl isn't ready yet. this child, this saviour. 

grace isn't ready. but dani has always been, since the moment she ripped that power core clean out of the one person who truly loved her. she has waited her whole life to gain that person back. constantly clutching at the past and the future at the same time. 

when sarah puts a weathered hand on dani's shoulder, it brings her back to the unfortunate present.

* * *

grace is incredible in combat. dani knows this already, but it shocks her still, the unadulterated _force_ behind each swing. as the young girl changes and becomes a woman, so does her speed, her skill, her drive. she's always on the front lines, itching to fight, practically begging to scratch the chassis of an enemy. she's the militia's greatest weapon, but sometimes dani worries over her.

"why bother," says sarah, looking disdainfully over the rim of her sunglasses, tucking into the remainder of a year-old packet of potato chips. "you know what she'll become. you know that she can handle it."

"it's not that she can't handle it," dani replies. "i'm just not sure i can."

* * *

the moment finally comes and grace is ready. her head aches and her chest is caving in and everything is oozing blood, soaked in red. in a pain-fuelled haze she volunteers to be augmented, volunteers to go back and save her commander. dani is the only one that matters, the only one that _can_ matter. grace is more than willing to sacrifice everything to protect her.

the entire operation she feels a hand in hers, a presence beside her. she wants to know who it belongs to, but everything is white noise and streaks of burning agony through her skin.

then she wakes up in a room she doesn't recognise. dani sits at the head of her bed, clearly dishevelled. she's traded in her khakis for a more comfortable t-shirt, and suddenly grace understands where she is - safe in HQ's trauma wing and definitely not ten feet up in the air, materialising from a ball of charged particles.

"this isn't the past," grace says as she stirs, sitting up slowly against the headboard. "why am i still here?"

dani almost bolts to her side.

"grace!" breathes dani at last, and it all comes out in a great big rush, "grace, grace, grace, you're awake, you're alive, oh my god."

"i don't understand."

"you don't need to," says dani, and she hasn't even explained anything yet but the tears are already streaming down her face. "the only thing you need to know is that you are _not_ going back to the past to save me, and that is an order. okay?"

"but--"

dani is shaking, overwhelmed with what's happening. "i once promised someone i'd never let you die for me again. i'm going to keep that promise."

she's changing the future, bit by bit. 

"saving you is my purpose, dani." here grace gestures to her bandages. "it's the reason for all of this. i did this for you, for your future. why won't you let me save it?"

"because," dani replies, leaning in bit by bit, " _you_ are my future. you're my past, too. it's my job to save us." 

grace kisses her then, blood-stained hands on dani's cheeks. pulls her in after years of waiting.

past, present, and future, dani's whole timeline flashes before her eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry about this but i Needed a kiss from these two. Needed It


End file.
